Fort Garry Buyers Club

The tradition of the whiteout notwithstanding, the Dark Side is squarely on side with the return of the Jets. Shall we pool our resources and purchase a couple of seasons tickets? Discuss.

TNR

It is a very big day in Winnipeg. The TNR resumes after the annual break for the Spring Ride. The countdown has been reset. A new edition of The Book has been released. It is time to start planning for the 2012 Spring Ride. It will be the 10th anniversary. The traditional gift for such an occasion is aluminum. Which means next year should probably be a carbon-free ride. We may make an exception for the VP Style and his titanium steed. It depends on how the socks turn out.

There is also talk of a visit from the Bluffton Chapter. Does he have a bike?

As for the ride, now that the Jets are back, we turn our attention to the task of bringing back the velodrome. We will ride through P&M to let the celebrating throng know about their next project.

Spring Ride Report

To write it all up would be immoderate. But here are some photos. Feel free to share your favourite memories in the comments.

Let's do it again in about 362 days.

Giro Pool Wrap-Up

In the end, Chris O won it by exactly 500 points. Congratulations Chris! Miriam and Mark rounded out the final podium.

The final overall results looked like this:

Chris O 5724
Miriam 5224
Mark 4679
Dan 4369
Chris D 4208
Ali 3914
Randy 3849
Kevin 3763
Graham 3730
Rachel 3652
Jonny B 3573
Greg 3482
Terry 3319
Vic 3301
Dallas 3292
Jonah 3258
Brad 3233
Andrea 3151
Steve 3028
Pete 2955
Jonny G 2930
Chris H 2889
Darryl 2796
Bill 2761
David 2733
Jay 2696
Ian 2430
Matt 1941
Paddy 1696
Kim 1492

For all the scoring details, go here.

Thanks for playing, boys and girls. That was fun. Check back in about a month for the 2011 FGBC TdF Pool.

Comment Wars

The Sock Discussion: 37
The Spring Ride Open Thread: 58

But if you factor in the 5 deleted comments, it's really 32-58. Then again, if you count Dallas's contributions to the sock discussion that appeared in other threads, it is closer again. Either way, this is almost as exciting as the old FGBC - RRR FGD Challenge. Maybe we should just stay home this weekend and post comments about the Spring Ride.

Keep talking. Fort Garry Banter Club.

First proof

Thursday Anticipation: The Big One

Giddy-up boys and girls. Only one more sleep until the sweetest weekend of the year. It's down to just hours now.

It looks like we'll have a good turnout. The provisional roster is as follows:

The President, The Secretary, me, Jonny G, Unger, Tenacious V, Juan Eppstein, Cousin Adam, JP, the Cricket, the Weasel, the Hipster, Cousin Adam, Big Luke, Tony H, Lump (the MF), KK, Brad the Impaler, Bill, Paul V, Major Tom, Johnny S, Cousin Thomas, Paul K, Geez Louise, Colin, Gianni, Liam, The Poosher.

We have a potential beer crisis brewing. But the President is on it.

There are still some folks looking for rides. In particular, Cousin Adam needs help on Saturday morning. It appears there are plenty of options for Friday afternoon. Keep using the Spring Ride Open Thread to get all the details sorted out.

Two in a Row for the J-Train

Fortunately, he practices his victory salutes on a regular basis. So he was ready. Jonah benefitted from a stage win by the guy with the sweetest name in the race, Eros Capecchi. He also got 55 points from Belgian stud Jan Bakelandts. With 205 points, he narrowly edged out big sister, Little M. She had 200 points on the stage, with contributions from Pinotti and Cataldo. Pete and Jonny G tied for third. They also have Capecchi, and so ended up with 150 points apiece.

No big changes to the GC. Miriam took 75 points back from Chris O's lead. She now trails by 135 points. If she's going to close the gap, it will have to be done by Serpa, Bak, Cataldo, and Klemme. Mark continues to hold onto the third podium spot. But Chris D has moved into 4th place. He is 211 points behind the Hipster.

Full results and overall standings here.

Note that with the Spring Ride commencing tomorrow morning, this will be the last update for the 2011 FGBC Giro d'Italia Pool for a few days. We will get caught up on Sunday evening or Monday. Hopefully by then, Clenbutador will have found a way to lose the race.

Spring Ride Open Thread

Do you need a ride? Better yet, do you have a ride to offer? Perhaps you need help deciding what kind of chips to bring for the Friday night chip buffet. Do you have a bike you are willing to let Lump borrow for the weekend? Let us know. Or maybe you simply want to let us know that you are planning to attend.

Post a comment below for these or any other Spring Ride related matters. We may not get everything sorted out. But at least we can say we tried.

Looking for the sock discussion? That's over here.

Stages 16 & 17

Chris O won the uphill ITT on Stage 16. His team is made for the mountains. Which means it's made for winning the 2011 FGBC Giro d'Italia Pool. Jonah won the breakaway special that was Stage 17.

No big change to the GC. Full results and overall standings here.

TNR Report

We rode to Smokes, hoping for some poutine. It is still not open. Despite articles in the paper saying it was. That is lame.



So we headed to VJs instead. Not only was it open. It was awesome. Of course.



While enjoying our VJs Specials, we spent some time reminiscing about Hot Pursuit. We also pondered the question of whether the Cricket is an arrogant SOB. We concluded that, while he may well be an SOB, he is definitely not arrogant.

By the time we got that all sorted out, it was time to head to the klubhaus. We arrived just in time for the first OT. Which meant is was busier and more boisterous than usual. We surmised that this would not be the case at your random neighbourhood establishment in Atlanta. Go Jets! Being sports fans, the crowd was also apparently well versed in the latest revelations from the weekend's 60 Minutes piece. And so we were subjected to all kinds of cycling-related remarks that were no doubt intended to be more clever and funny than they actually were.

Halberto dropped in for a visit before departing for his cycling vacation that is posing as a work-related conference. We still can't get over how brilliant that is. Of course, the bulk of the discussion focused on the Spring Ride. We got a few things sorted out. But there are many questions that remain. Including the matter of what implications the disco will have for the chip buffet. We resolved to let that one play itself out.

It was an evening that was almost eerily devoid of drama. But the situation changed when we were about 100m from the klubhaus and on the way home. The Impaler's chain exploded. At which point he all of a sudden remembered not having inserted the little clip thingy that keeps the master-link in place. He acknowledged that this was a major oversight. There may have been some bad words overheard. But since he was still about 20 km from home, we had a problem on our hands and quickly set out to solve it.





JP resorted to traffic control and took up negotiations with inquisitive taxi drivers, while Jonny G brought out his multi tool and managed to reassemble the chain.



It took a little while and was far from perfect, but we managed to get the Impaler rolling again. We trust he made it home safely.

On the tunes front, it was mostly silent on account of the hockey game. But after the game we heard Running with the Devil. Which led Jonny G to serve up his impression of the DLR Soundboard. And allowed us to mention the even more awesome JV Soundboard. If the person behind the 2011SOB campaign is reading this, we suggest you consider adding a Brad the Impaler soundboard to the site. There was a Steve Miller song too. And a second one, at which point it was appropriately declared closing time and the hi fi shut off.

TNR

We are hesitant to interrupt the great sock discussion. But somebody said something about a ride tonight. We have some planning to do for the Spring Ride. And some poutine to consume. Unless, of course, the monsters get us first.

9:30 pm at my place.

Now, don't forget to let the VP Style know how many socks you would like. He is making good progress, but needs more feedback. Don't worry about the underwear just yet. That will be the next project.

A note from the sartorial department

Some of us got to thinking about putting together a FGBC sock order from either Sock Guy, Defeet or Champ-Sys. How many pre-orders we get may determine who we go with in the end, but I'd love to hear about brand/material preference - especially if not one of the above - and the number of pairs you think you might pick up.

Think in the neighbourhood of $10 a pair. Maybe a couple of bucks more if we go wool.

The Prince and the Queen

Prince Dan won the Queen Stage of the Giro, a 229 km seven and a half hour romp through the Dolomites. With points from Nibali, Arroyo, Rujano, and Gadret, he picked up 365 points on the day. Chris ) was second with 255 points. Brad the Impaler had 225 points to finish third.

Chris O continues to wear the vicarious maglia rosa. His lead over Miriam us up to 110 points. Mark remains in third place. He is about 450 points back. Graham, Terry, and Dan are the best of the rest. They are all about 150 points behind Mark, but within 11 points of each other.

Full results and overall standings here.

There is no racing today. But they're back at it tomorrow with an uphill ITT. How can you not love the Giro?

Safety in Numbers

When the mountains loom large, it seems people bind themselves together. Randy and Greg rode up Mt Zoncolan holding hands, consoling one another in the face of the ominous 22% grades. It worked. They finished tied for first with 305 points each. Ali and Chris O also rode up holding hands. They tied for third at 255 points each. Dan, Pete, and Terry opted for a three-way partnership. 250 points apiece for them.

In the overall race, Chris O extended his lead. He's now ahead of Miriam by 65 points. The Hipster remains in third place. He is 375 points behind Chris. The biggest threats to the podium are Terry, Graham, and KK. All three of them are within 100 points of Mark's final podium spot.

Full results and overall standings here.

Stage 13 Lucky for Chris O

After five days in the vicarious pink jersey, Miriam's time at the top of the standings has come to an end. Chris O had a monster day today, with 435 points, and took over the top spot. With Rujano, Contador, and Gadret on his team, he swept the podium on the stage. Nice. BCC's cyclocross sensation and all around good guy now leads Little M by 15 points. They pretty much share everyone but Rujano (Chris) and Serpa (Miriam) and their stage hunter and wildcard guys. It could be interesting. The Hipster also had a big day today. With 400 points, he bumped Graham out of the top three. But only by 4 points. Dan was third on the day and continues his meteoric rise toward the top of the standings. He was in 6th last place just 5 stages ago. Now he's in 9th place and less than 300 points from a podium spot.

Full results and overall standings here.

Tomorrow's stage will be one worth watching. Not for the results. Contador will no doubt ride away from everyone again. But the final climb up Mt Zoncolan, with its grades of up to 22%, should be fun to watch.

Thursday Anticipation

There is no racing this weekend. But there are plenty of options for riding. The OCC has a couple of rides planned and has extended an invitation to the Dark Side. Sunday at Bur Oak. And Monday at Tinker Creek. Visit the OCC for more details.

We may do a few rides of our own. But we are not nearly as organized. So notification will come at the last minute, if at all.

Yes, this is a long weekend. Get out and make use of it. Even more importantly, this is the last weekend before the Spring Ride. How sweet is that? Almost as sweet as Tenacious V.

Graham vs. Cavendish

Mark Cavendish became the first multiple stage winner of the Giro today with his second sprint victory of the race. Graham is the only multiple stage winner of the 2011 FGBC Giro d'Italia Pool. But he's beating the Manx Mouth 3-2. Suck it, Cav! Not only did he win his third stage of the race. With 315 points today, Graham pulled himself back into contention for the overall prize. Still in third place, he now trails Miriam by just under 200 points. Chris O remains in second place. He is 130 points back of Little M. Andrea and Terry tied for second on the stage. They had 240 points apiece.

Full results and overall standings here.

Best Dogfest Ever

We stopped in at the klubhaus to check on the status of the jerseys. They have been raised. Our table has been peed on. It's a beautiful sight.



We arrived at Juan Eppstein's to find him frying up chips in the disco.



That went over well. So well, in fact, that most elected to fry their dogs instead of roast them. That seemed a better idea last night than it did this morning. Either way, it was decided that the disco is going to Ingolf.

The combination of Phils Pils, the usual stimulating confabulation, and the sweet weather made the time fly. All of a sudden it was almost 2am and time to hit the road. But not before we thoroughly analyzed the current commissaire crisis, sketched an outline of an off-the-grid stage race that will take place next summer, and talked about the Spring Ride and how awesome it will be. Good times.

Little M's Big Day

She had cx stud and overall freak John Gadret for the win. Serpa and Contador in the top 5. And Cataldo at 7th place. It all added up to 390 points and a decisive stage win for Miriam today on a stage that looked like it would do a passable job as a stunt double for one of the Ardennes classics. Dan and Chris O were second and third. But they were both over 100 points back.

So Miriam extends her overall lead to 140 points over Chris O. It is starting to look very much like a two horse race. Third place is more than 400 points back by now. That is currently occupied by Graham. But KK is lurking just off the podium and getting ready to pounce. He's just 7 points from the lowest step of the podium.

For those who may not be aware, you are getting your asses handed to you by a nine year old. And yes, she picks her own team. She has some interesting methods for selecting her riders. For her wildcards, she had me scroll the screen up and down. She then closed her eyes, told me to stop, and pointed at the screen. This approach brought Cataldo to her team. He has already contributed over 200 points to her efforts. That is almost half of what Kim's entire team has gained so far. Sometimes you eat the bear. Sometimes the bear eats you.

Full results and overall standings here.